Process of making hydrocyanic acid.



especially trimethylamin which has princitar-arse "omtrnnsirnrnjs o'm'o LIEIBKNECHT, on FRANKFQR'r-ON-THE-MAIN, ennis/innit; As'sIcNbn ROESSLER & HASSLACHER CHEMICAL 00., or NEW YORK, N. 'Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF MAKING HYDROCYANIC ACID.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Orro LIEBKNECHT, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and a resident of Frankfort on the- Main, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of Making Hydrocyanic Acid, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the process of making hydrocyanic acid in a manner more expeditious and cheaper than heretofore.

It is known that hydrocyanic acid can be made by heating a mixture of ammonia and carbon hydrogen compounds to a high temperature, but good technical yields have not been obtained in this manner.

I have discovered that ammonia heated together with alkylamins gives satisfactory yields of hydrocyanic acid.

It is known that if alkylamins are heated,

pally to be considered from a technical standpoint, to a tcmpcratin-ediigh enough to dissociate it. formation of hydrocyanic acid takes place, the molecule however being split up principally into methane. carbon and hydrogen in accordance with the equation (ClI,,),,N:lltlx-t-tt l'l -t-ll -l-(l If ammonia is mixed with the trimethylamin, the trimethylamin is not only converted practically quantitatively into hydrocyanic acid, but the ammonia also is converted into the same with very good yields in accordance with the equation Under favorable. conditions yields can be obtained which are not very far from the theoretically possible. This conversion of ammonia into hydroq'anic acid with good yiclds is apparently caused by the fact that. the carbon hydrogen compounds generated through the decomposition of trimethylamin, react in, slut u nascencli more energetically on the ammonia than if they were admixed directly with the ammonia as hitherto przuzticial. The carbon hydrogen compounds which are formed by the decomposition of trinu-thylamin therefore find.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 16, 1910. Serial No. 555,953.

Patented Aug. 23, 1910.

through the conversion of the ammonia intohydrocyanic acid, a very serviceable use, while hitherto they have only been used at best, for fuel purposes. The heating of the mixture may take place in. various ways. For instance by passing the gas mixture through tubes which are heated directly or indirectly to the temperature required. A tempe'ature of about red heat and above has proven to give good results. The degree of temperature,which is required for carrying out the process, depends partly upon the velocity with which the gases are conducted over the heating furnaces.

I am aware that a process has been ublis'hed ,for producing hydrocyanic aci by heating alkylamins to red heat, whereby the alkylamins shall be decomposed into ammonia, inflammable gases and'hydrocyanic acid. This formation of ammonia can only be based, according to the nature of the compounds in question, upon not suiliciently heating the alkylamins or it may be a. secondary reaction, as for instance saponification of already formed hydrocyanic acid.

tit

The formation of hydrocyanic acid represents a-simpler reaction than the formation of ammonia, because the union already present between carbon and nitrogen remains intact. If on the other hand the reaction takes place at sufliciently high temperature then the formation of free ammonia in any considerable quantities is not possible as only hydrocyanic acid and inflammable carbon containing gases are generated, these gases containing, in case trimethylamin is used, two atoms ofcarbon whereas only one carbon atom is contained in the hydrocyanic acid. My process is based just upon this latter circumstance: To the alkylamin to be treated so much ammonia is added that the excess ot carbon can combine with the ammonia to form hydrocyanic acid, the inflammable carbon containing gases reacting vupon the ammonia in state aulscemli.

In my process I do not use small quantitics of ammonia. formed only through the reaction, but I purposely add com iaratively large quantities of ammonia in or er to convert]; the same as described into hydrocyanic acu i 11 What I claim 1s (11182. I In testlmony whereof I have slgned tins 1;. .The process of making hydrocyamc speclfication 1n the presence of two snbscrlbconslstln 1n heatmg a mixture of an mg witnesses.

:ylamin an ammonia. 1' OTTQ LIEBKNECHT.

2. The process of making hydrocyanic Witnesse's:

:1 consisting in heating a. mixture of FRANZ HASSLACHER,

' net-hylamin and ammonia; Emvm' Emu 

